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Cougars get even

Prince George whips Winterhawks 5-1 to square WHL first-round playoff series at 1-1

The Prince George Cougars shut down the Portland Winterhawks on Sunday night to even their Western Hockey League series at 1-1.

The Cougars, who cruised to a 5-1 victory, will be in Portland for Games 3 and 4 in the best-of-seven series. Face-offs are 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Memorial Coliseum.

Portland won 4-2 on Friday and had plenty of offensive pressure in the sequel, but Prince George goalie Ty Edmonds was up to the task. He saved 33 shots in the first two periods, then added seven more saves over the penalty-filled final 20 minutes.

Brad Morrison gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead — their first lead of the series — on a rebound wrister with 4:03 remaining in the first period, after a block by Portland defenseman Matt Revel.

The Hawks led in shots, 17-10, in the first period, but couldn't get the equalizer.

In the second period, Aaron Boyd scored off a feed from Tanner Wishnowski for a 2-0 Prince George lead at 8:32, then scored again at 18:35 for a 3-0 bulge — despite Portland's 16-9 margin in shots during the stanza.

Things got seriously out of hand almost immediately in the third period. Shane Collins scored 22 seconds into the frame, and Radovan Bondra scored 35 seconds later, 15 seconds after a penalty to Portland's Keegan Iverson.

Only a power-play goal by Cody Glass at 12:53 spoiled Edmonds' shutout bid. Assists went to Iverson and Joachim Blichfeld.